Toppa Top 10: Top 10 Jamaican Country Tunes

Words by Jesse Serwer

Today sees the release of Reggae Gone Country, VP Records’ compilation featuring Busy Signal, Beres Hammond, Freddie McGregor and other Jamaican artists covering country and western classics from Kenny Rogers, George Jones, Roger Miller and more. To celebrate, the label is hosting a concert at Breezes Negril in Jamaica tonight, featuring many of the artists on the album. LargeUp will be there documenting it–so stay tuned for more on that later.

Of course, reggae hasn’t just gone country–it’s always been country. The genre is much bigger in Jamaica than most outsiders comprehend and, in fact, has been a staple of Jamaican radio for as long as Jamaican radio has existed. Here’s a look at some of the most memorable country cover versions from Jamaica–and some convincingly Dixie-fied originals from two of dancehall’s biggest names.

10. Busy Signal, “The Gambler” (Kenny Rogers)

Last summer, we got Busy Signal on the phone and asked him to name his Top 10 (non-reggae) Summer jams. No. 4 on that list (right between Luther Vandross and Phil Collins) was Kenny Rogers’ immortal pokerface anthem “The Gambler.” THIS summer Busy unveiled his own version of the tune, as the lead single on VP’s Reggae’s Gone Country compilation.

9. John Holt, “Help Me Make It Through The Night” (Kris Kristofferson)

Several reggae singers have covered this 1970 Kris Kristofferson hit (also covered by Gladys Knight and Willie Nelson, among others), most notably John Holt, in 1975.

8. Beenie Man, “Ain’t Gonna Figure It Yet”

This Beenie Man original was recorded in Nashville with a fiddler, steel guitar player and other country musicians, for his eclectic 1997 album, The Many Moods of Moses. For some reason, however, he chose Alanis Morrisette’s “Hand in My Pocket” as his lyrical inspiration. How ’bout that twang?

7. J.C. Lodge, “Someone Loves You Honey” (Charley Pride)

Before she was engaging in “Telephone Love,” British-born, Jamaica-raised June C. Lodge’s first single, from 1982, was a version of Black country singer Charley Pride’s “Someone Loves You Honey” also featuring producer/singer George Nooks, back when he was a deejay going by the name Prince Mohammed. Lodge later released the self-explanatory Reggae Country and Reggae Country 2 albums in 2002 and 2003, respectively.

5/6. The Skatalites, “Occupation”/The Upsetters, “Ring of Fire” (Johnny Cash)

Above all else, it’s the outlaw spirit of country that resonates in Jamaica. So naturally reggae artists would identify with the original badman, Johnny Cash.  Back in the pre-reggae days, the Skatalites turned “Ring of Fire” into the seminal ska instrumental, “Occupation.” We’ve already established how much Western shoot-em-ups influenced Lee Perry in his early years. No surprise he’d find a kindred spirit in Johnny, giving “Ring of Fire” the Upsetters treatment in 1972.

4. Lady Saw, “Give Me The Reason”

More than just a slackness deejay, the multi-talented Lady Saw really shows her range on “Give Me The Reason,” the title track from her second full-length album, from 1996. While “Give Me The Reason” is so dead on that one might easily confuse it for a Nashville cover, it actually works the other way around: according to a Lady Saw bio floating around the web, it’s the only song by a dancehall act ever to be covered by a country artist.

3. Screechy Dan, “Lonesome Blues” (Hank Williams)

Ever heard a Jamaican yodel? Screechy Dan is one of dancehall’s great unsung talents and, yes, yodeling is part of his repertoire. In fact, Screechy still busts this one from 1992 out at most of his live shows–it’s a big hit live, trust us. To see what we mean, check this clip of Screechy and Shinehead yodeling in combination at New York’s Downtown Top Ranking party (yodeling starts at the  3-minute mark)

2. David Isaacs, “Just Enough To Keep Me Hanging On” (Gosdin Brothers)

This Lee Perry production features an incredibly rousing vocal performance from the late David Isaacs that my friend David Ma has called “one of the saddest songs in the history of love songs.” Although the lyrics are the same, Isaacs’ haunting vocals are so unique as to render the tune almost unrecognizable from the Gosdin Brothers original, or the better known version by Vern Gosdin (minus brother Rex) and Emmylou Harris.

1. Toots and the Maytals, “Country Road” (John Denver)

This version of John Denver’s 1971 hit “Take Me Home Country Roads,” which appeared on Toots & the Maytals’ classic album Funky Kingston (released in the US in 1975), is probably the best known reggae cover of a country song. Toots Hibbert puts a yardie twist on things, replacing Denver’s references to West Virginia with “West Jamaica.”